Spectral narrowing of selective reflection

Abstract

A theory for the spectral narrowing of selective reflection near a resonance line of an atomic vapor is developed. The narrowing is ascribed to transient polarization behaviour of vapor atoms associated with wall collisions. For normally incident light the reflectivity of a glass-vapor interface is calculated both for diffuse and for specular wall collisions and for a symmetric distribution of atomic velocities. The theoretical results are compared with recent experimental results